A New Awakening
by Na'viWalker
Summary: Our story takes place 30 years after the RDA have left Pandora. The few that stayed have now created their own colony to continue their research of both Pandora and the Na'vi. It follows the story of Julie, an Avatar driver and her adventures on Pandora
1. Prologue

A New Awakening

By: Na'viWalker

Prologue: Year: 2159 - 5 Years after the RDA has left Pandora.

(POV of Sara - Avatar Driver)

"I cant believe its been 5 years already, we have learned so much, and yet are various discoveries and research may never be put to good use."

Sara scribbled in her journal, she turned to look out the window of the former Hells Gate tower. It was slowly being overrun by the forest, vines were starting to grow on the buildings, grass was slowing appearing on the air strip where gunship once rested, it was as if the scars that were once there were being healed. Sara continued to stare out the window as if hoping to see something, but the only thing blocking her vision was the rain that was falling. She turned back to her journal and continued writing.

"Its been 5 years since we sent the rest of the RDA back to earth, 5 years since Jake became leader of the Na'vi, 5 years since I have seen my family at home. I wonder each day what they will think when they hear that I decided to stay behind, possibly never to return home."

She felt a dripping on her shoulder and looked up, the ceiling was leaking again.

"This building is slowly falling apart" Sara wrote as she glared at the leaking ceiling, "but thanks to Jake, he has convinced the rest of the clan to allowed us to move our research and equipment to a new location, closer to them, allowing us to learn more about them and their world. Until now, we have had limited contact with them, they still don't fully trust us. There are only a few of the other Avatar drivers who are actually allowed to interact with the clan, even now, after all that has happened. Jake has been a powerful ally, he has already done so much for them." Chewing on her pen cap, she continued.

"After the RDA left, Jake led a party to search for a new home. They wanted to stay close to the Tree of Souls. Finding a suitable home for such a large clan took almost a year, but home was found just a few miles away. It was big enough for the entire clan, and there was room for the clan to grow as well. I have yet to see it for myself, but from what the other drivers have said about it, it sounds like its 3 times the size of the original Home Tree. The clan has moved into their new home since then, they seem very happy."

"As far as the Avatar Program is concerned, we are still pushing on improving this technology. We, myself included, have found that we still have the ability to make Avatars here, even on Pandora. Unfortunately we still lack a way to speed up the growth process. If a driver would want an Avatar, they would need to provide a DNA sample at the moment of birth, in order for the Avatar to be at a mature enough age to be able to sustain a link with their driver. Im still working around the clock on speeding up the growth process, I feel that we are very close to a break through. Some of our initial tests have been promising."

Leaning back on her chair she yelled,

"Hey Tracy! When do we move?!"

"I think we start moving the major stuff tomorrow!" she responded from the link room.

Sara sighed as she scribbled down her final thoughts,

"Well tomorrow we start moving. Its going to be an interesting few months. Thats all for now"


	2. The Awakening

Chap 1. (The Awakening)

Year: 2184 - 30 Years After the RDA has Left Pandora

Julie rolled over in bed to stare at the buzzing alarm.

"Ugh...5 more minutes" she thought.

Sitting up she let her down from the bun she had it in as she stared out the window. The view from her room was always breathtaking. It looked out over the forests of Pandora where the sky, clouds, mountains, and trees always seemed to work so perfectly together. Placing her feet on the floor, she rubbed her eyes, trying to overcome the grogginess of just waking up, and yet she had this feeling of excitement that surrounded her.

*DING* "Julie are you up yet?" a voice echoed.

Julie stumbled over to the intercom, she grumbled as she pressed the button.

"Yes Mom." she sighed.

"Alright, good. Your going to be late for your first link session if you don't hurry." the voice answered.

"I know, I know, geez." Julie responded, slightly aggravated now.

"I don't know why she bothers bugging me to get up so early" Julie thought, "They have to wait for me anyway, not like they can give my Avatar to someone else." She walked over to the mirror to prepare for the day. Her blue eyes always stunned people, which was completed by her long, black hair, and soft complexion. People often told her she looked like her mother. Brushing her hair she closed her eyes still not completely awake. She let her mind go blank and thought of what it would be like to be driving her Avatar for the first time. Images of forest rushing by her as she sprinted and ran through the thick bush flashed in her head.

*DING* "Julie, don't forget your ID tag before you come down!" broke the silence.

Julies eyes opened and she glanced to her left,

"Yep, just where I left it." she muttered under her breath.

She quickly slipped into her favorite pair of jeans and dark blue shirt and headed out the door. She lived in the new Hell's Gate, now ironically named Heaven's Gate. It was reconstructed from pieces of the old Hell's Gate, but was devoted to science, research, and living. The new station was just a few miles from the New Home Tree, and was stationed atop a cliff, overlooking the Omaticaya. If you looked closely enough, you could see Na'vi riding their Ikran in and out of the canopy of Home Tree.

Julie had only head stories about the past, about the people, the war, and about Earth. She often wondered what is was like where her mother grew up and lived, her mother often spoke of it, and how she was glad to be here, on Pandora, instead.

Julie joined her mother and father and in the kitchen, pulling out the aluminum chair, she slumped down into it. Her father glanced up from his research notes on the table and gave her a casual smile.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Knowing what I was going to get to do today, I barely slept at all."

"Well don't expect to do much during your first link session" her mother chimed in.

"Don't dampen her hopes already Sara, things have changed since the first time you activated your Avatar" Julies Dad remarked.

"Yes, but its still her first session driving a real Avatar, you can do those training scenarios over and over, but nothing can prepare you for how it feels when you do it for the first time." Sara responded.

Julie listened to them both bicker, as she decided to make herself breakfast.

"You remember what happened when you first linked with your Avatar?" Julies mother growled.

"Oh don't bring that up...I" he couldn't finish his thought.

"You vomited the moment you got out of the link." Julies mother stated bluntly.

"I told you time and time again, I was not feeling well that day, and the link just made it worse" her dad answered.

Julie had heard this story brought up many times, and it always ended the same way. With her Dad confessing that he really wasn't sick that day. Julie just smiled and laughed to herself. Julie continued to listen to her parents debate, which resulted in her father admitting, once again, that he was not sick that day. She continued to wolf down her breakfast.

"Don't eat so fast! You'll choke." her mother snapped.

Julie just rolled her eyes. After she finished eating, she ran to her room to gather her things for the day, grabbed her ID tag and after a quick farewell to her parents, she sprinted out the door.

"Julie! Just remember that we love you." Her mother yelled as Julie ran off.

"Love you too guys!" Julie yelled back.

"She reminded me of you more and more each day." Julies Father remarked.

"I know, thats what worries me sometime." her mother remarked.

I have draw up a picture of what Heavens Gate would look like if anyone is interested:

.com/art/Heavens-Gate-160340378

Feel free to follow that Link to the image and My DA Profile.


	3. The Link

Chap 2 (The Link)

Julie bounded down the long corridor as she ducked and weaved between the few people that got in her way. Walking was not an option at this point, she was too excited to let her legs slow her down. She was on her way to the link room, which was on the opposite side of Heavens Gate, where most of the science and research labs were contained. As she passed through the glass corridor dividing the compound into 2 separate areas, she stopped for only a moment to gaze at the world she was about to enter. Her heart skipped a beat as her excitement continued to rise. She dashed the last leg of her journey nearly running over a few people in the process.

As Julie approached her destination, she could see the glowing sign labeled "Link Room" above. The doors opened automatically, as if expecting her. She was out of breath, the long run had winded her, but she did not dawdle long. She caught her breath and continued forward, she could see the empty Amino Tank that once held her avatar, which she had helped and watched grow for 10 years. She was lucky, her avatar was on of the first that was given a growth hormone developed by her mother many years before she was born. Her Avatar was one of the first successful tests of the new growth hormone and if all the test went well, it could be implemented into the growth process and greatly speed up the development of future Avatars in the future.

Julie walked over to the enormous glass observation window, which looked down into the lab, she press both her hands to the glass window and as she looked down. Her Avatar was laying softly on the cushioned table below, it looked so peaceful there as it laid there, it had a small smile on its face, it's hair was black like hers, and tied back in a bun and she could see its queue draping off on side of the table. Julie could not contain her excitement anymore, a large smile spread across her face.

"Soon" she thought, "Soon we will be running though the forest with the wind in our hair."

Julie was especially close to her Avatar, she helped her mother grow it for 10 years. She thought of it as her own, almost as her child, even thought her "child" was just as old as her. She had cared for it and watched it grow. She knew every stripe, every bio luminance dot, every hair that covered her Avatar. It was hers and hers alone to love.

"Ah Julie!" a familiar voice chimed, breaking her train of thought

Julie turned to see a smiling Norm Spellman, now much older, he had a beard and was wearing a white lab coat.

"Oel Ngati Kameie." he greeted her.

"Oel Ngati Kameie." Julie responded.

"Today is an important day for both you and your mother, if your Avatar had no issues with the growth hormone that your mother developed, we can start to work on implementing it into already growing Avatars as well as work on speeding the process even more!" He exclaimed, sounding almost gitty.

"I know, I know, but im not your damn test subject." Julie said, "so I don't want anything unnecessary done to her, alright?"

Norm looked at her and smiled.

"I promise to do as little to cause her any discomfort, as I can." Norm replied with a tenderness to his voice. "Now lets find an open link for you, shall we?"

He picked up the electronic clipboard off the console, searching thought the list of available links. The soft hum of other running links filled the room for a few seconds.

"Hmm...Haha! You...you will be in link seven." Norm ginned and pointed to the one right in the center of the room.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Julie asked, trying to pry the info out of him.

"No reason." Norm replied, with a grin on his face.

Julie walked over to the link as Norm followed her. She carefully opened the lid of the link, half expecting someone to jump out. A sigh of relief came when she found the link to be empty, after wondering why she got so worked up, she took a deep breath and climbed in. Norm had stared to program the link and it was already started to warm up.

"You have done this enough in the simulators, but procedure dictates that I repeat this once again. All you really need to try to do is try and fall asleep, clear your mind of all thoughts, that way we can get an accurate reading of your brain wave patters and a good link on the first try...oh and this was your fathers link when he first linked with his Avatar." Norm said with a smirk on his face.

Julie laughed as the lid of the link closed. She could hear the soft hum of the link platform moved back into position.

"Link Ready." the said a muffled voice.

"Lets hope she does better than her dad faired." Julie could her Norm chuckling outside the link.

Julie laid there, closed her eyes and her mind, going completely blank.

There was silence, darkness, and nothingness for a few seconds. Little blips of color and sound appeared. At first it was random. Then it began to pulse on and off, quicker and quicker, until she felt herself being thrust forward without warning, being pulled toward a bright white light.

Again there was silence and darkness, but it was different, she had feeling, cold, she was feeling cold, her body was cold. She could feel a soft, smooth material on her hands. She took a chance and attempted to take a breath. Air filled her lungs as her eyes slowly opened.


	4. Baby Steps

Chap 3 (Baby Steps)

Julies eyes slowly opened, everything seemed to blend together, light and sound seemed as one. Slowly she emerged from her dazed state as light and sound started to separate. Her vision started to focus and sound became clear enough to make out people talking. As she lay there on the table, a masked face slid into her view.

"Julie? Are you there?" it asked.

Julie could only groan. Everything was stiff, her legs, her arms, she even had trouble moving her fingers. Slow she brought her hand up to her face to examine it, staring at it, she flexed it slowly.

"Don't worry Julie, the stiffness is only temporary. Can you sit up for us?"

Julie nodded slowly as she obliged, she could feel the stiffness in her entire body. The nurses were there to help her up. As she sat up her head began to spin slightly, her balance had yet to return. Julie placed her hands behind her to support her weight and to keep from falling back. Her vision was back to normal, she was able to see clearly the faces of the two nurses as they smiled at her.

"Good Julie, good. How do you feel?" the one nurse asked softly.

"Feeling a bit...light headed, thats all." Julie mumbled.

"We can take a short break if you would like."

Julie only nodded.

"Ok, let me get you something to drink to hopefully get you on your feet and moving." the nurse said as she walked into another room.

Julie looked around the lab to try to get her bearings, she looked up at the window which viewed the entire room she was in. She could see Norm and her mother waving to her. Julie forced a smile on her face to acknowledge them, though she really felt ill. Her mother walked over to the side of the window to where the intercom was located.

"Sweety, how are you feeling?" Sara asked.

"Good, just a bit light headed." Julie answered.

"Alright, well don't push yourself too hard." Sara said worryingly.

"I know, I know," Julie sighed "No need to worry mom, I will be fine." Julie smiled to try to ease her mothers worries.

Sara smiled back as if saying "I know." to her daughter.

Julie pulled her gaze away from her mother and slowly swung her legs off the table placed her feet on the floor. She could feel how hard and cold it was, Julie started to inspect her Avatars body, from head to toe. She reached behind her and felt her queue. She ran her fingers through her hair, down her face and down the curves of her body, making sure to examine every detail and curve. The nurse returned moments later with a glass filled with a steaming liquid that reminded Julie of cola.

"Drink this," the nurse said as she handed Julie the glass, "it will help get you on your feet."

Julie thanked the nurse as her gently held the glass and brought it to her lips. It tastes just like Cherry, she drank it slowly, only small sips at a time. As the warm liquid ran down her throat she could almost immediately feel her lightheadedness disappear as well as her joints and muscles starting to loosen up. 5 minutes later, Julie was on her feet slowly strolling around the lab, still trying to regain her balance. Eventually she was able to walk around the small room with no help at all. Julie could not help but smile with excitement and joy.

"This is absolutely amazing" she thought.

"Julie." a voice crackled over the intercom.

Julie looked up to see Norm at the intercom.

"We need some blood to check to see if there are any issues that the growth hormone might have caused."

Julie nodded obediently, she didn't want them sicking her Avatar with needles, but Norm had promised her that he wouldn't do anything unnecessary to her Avatar.

One of the nurses has a needle in her hand, Julie held out her arm as the nurse drew blood from a vain.

"Thank you Julie, that is all we need for now, go out and enjoy the rest of the day." Norm smiled down at her.

Julie smiled back, as she did, another nurse appeared with some clothing for her that was obviously two sizes two small in length. But at 9 feet tall, Julie couldn't really complain.

The nurses led her to a room adjacent to the lab with no windows so she could change in privacy.

"Just let us know if you need anything." the nurse smiled.

Julie nodded as the nurse closed the door.

Julie removed the hospital gown and dropped it on the floor. Standing in front a full body mirror. She continued to examined her new form from head to toe. She ran her hands down her chest, she cupped her breasts as she ran her hand down her sides. She continued till she arrived at the base of her tail, which she ran her hands over and grinned.

"Wow," she thought "I look good."

She turned her hips to allow herself to her down her back and examine her tail. She always loved her tail. She continued to glance at herself in the mirror, examining her new body.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"You doing alright Julie?" one of the nurses asked.

Startled, Julie grabbed the gown off the floor and covered herself.

"Yea i'm fine." she answered.

Julie quickly got dressed, she had some minor difficulties getting her tail to cooperate when putting on her underwear and pants, but eventually it decided to behave. Julie exited the small room and was greeted by the two nurses who had been patiently waiting, they led her down a small corridor which lead to the surface of Pandora and to the compound where the other Avatar stayed.

"You ready?" asked one of the nurses.

"Do you have to ask?!" Julie exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down trying to contain her excitement.

The nurse just smiled as she pushed opened the door. Julie was immediately bathed in sunlight, she could feel its warmth surround her as she gazed out onto the surface of Pandora. Julie stepped out the door, gazed into the sky, and took a deep breath.

"This is where I belong." She thought.


	5. The Meeting

Chap 4 (The Meeting)

The nurses led Julie across the compound, as they did, Julie made sure to take noticed of all the sights, sounds and smells that Pandora had to offer. She glanced to her right and noticed all the obstacle courses that had been transplanted from Hells Gate. Her eyes widened with joy.

"When do I get to go on those?" she asked the Nurses.

"Not today, your still getting used to maneuvering and controlling your avatar," one answered "besides, there is someone who would like to meet you."

Julie wondered who it could be, no one had told her that she would be meeting anyone or that anyone wanted to meet her for that matter. But her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a distant screeching that emanated over head. Moments later five Ikran burst over the tree line that encircled the compound. They flew over head for a few minutes, searching for a suitable area of open grass to land. The Ikrans wings beat the air rapidly, slowing their decent until they gently landed in the open patch of grass, Julie eyes widened, she had never seen a real Ikran up close before, her only knowledge of them is what her mother had told her and from what she observed from her bedroom window. All 5 of the Na'vi had dismounted and were calming their mounts, two of the Na'vi took notice Julie and the nurses and made their way towards the them, leaving the others to attend to their mounts.

Julie saw that one was Male and the other was Female. As they approached, Julie's jaw dropped as a small gasp of excitement emanated from her throat.

"It can't be..." she thought. "No way."

The male Na'vi saw Julies gaze and expression and grinned.

"Kaltxi, ma Julie. Oel ngati kameie." he said in a deep soothing tone.

"Oel...Oel...Oel ngati kameie." Julie sputtered, still awestruck.

There was a moment of silence.

"Your...your Jake!" she blurted, "And your Neytiri!" as she turned her gaze to the female na'vi.

Neytiri smiled, giggled, and nodded in response.

"Its nice to meet you Julie, your mother has told us all about you. Its a pleasure meeting for the first time." Jake said

Still dumbfounded Julie answered.

"Likewise"

"Julie, we have something we would like to discuss with you. More of an offer we are willing to extend to you, if you are interested." Jake said.

"We would be honored if you would accept." Neytiri chimed in.

Julie's face went from stunned to complexed rapidly, seeing this, Jake and Neytiri turned headed back to their mounts. Jake gestured for Julie to follow them. She quickly moved forward to catch up to them. Julie could see the three other na'vi males were relaxing and chatting in na'vi, but were vigilante of their surroundings. As Julie approached, they glared at her, their bright yellow eyes seemed to pierce into her mind and read every thought she had at that moment. She froze in place.

"Kehe." Jake hissed.

The males eyes dropped and Julie could see their muscles start to relax.

"Don't mind them, they were assigned as body guards to us, they are quite harmless unless provoked." Neytiri joked.

Jake walked over to his Ikran and started conversing with it in na'vi, Neytiri joined him, both of them seated themselves on the soft grass.

"Come, sit." Neytiri smile as she patted the ground next to her.

Slowly and carefully Julie made her over to where the two Na'vi were sitting. Julie was still having issues sitting with her new tail. She finally grabbed it and held it in her lap since it would not cooperate any other way.

"Julie, do you know who Dr. Grace Augustine is?" Jake said when Julie was settled.

"Only a little." she responded.

Jake continued.

"Grace was a close friend of mine, but an even closer friend to your mother. Grace was the key founder of the Avatar program, as you know."

Julie remember reading the memorial plaque dedicated to her, right outside the link room. Julie's mother would often stop at the memorial pay respects and every year she would lay flowers near the memorial to commemorate the lives lost during that fateful day.

Jake was still describing her mothers first meeting with Grace.

"For the first few years, Grace worked alone, that is until she met your mother. Grace told me about how she met your mother when she came to Pandora. When she arrived, she was the last one to step off the shuttle. She was very timid when it came to meeting people, but Grace noticed her and knew who she was when she stepped out of the shuttle. Grace walked over and greeted her with a friendly hand shake and a pleasant "Hello, im Dr. Grace Augustine, you must be Sara, let me show you around." The rest is history, their teamwork brought the Avatar program great success. Each advancement and test they did was together, they even shared a room together, that was until your mother met your father. Grace and Sara were inseparable when they were in the lab together. But, as you know your mother was not really the social type, so Grace attended all the social gatherings and did the public speaking, but your mother was there in the background, every step of the way. Grace never forgot that and always made sure your mother got credit for the work that she did."

Jake stopped for a moment and took a heavy sigh, his broad shoulders dropped, his ears flattened, and his head drooped. Neytiri was there running her hand up and down Jake's back in an attempt to comfort him. He took a deep breath and continued.

"Grace's death took a huge toll on all of us, but it made an even bigger impact on your mom Julie. As you probably have noticed, she never talks about it, she will mention Grace from time to time, but only on very rare occasions. She lost her closest friend in the universe, to needless violence. Ever since that day, your mother has been doing everything in her power to make sure that we, the na'vi people and humans, can live together on the same world."

Jake let Julie take in all this information for a moment before continuing.

"Julie we have been working tirelessly trying to get the rest of the clan to allow outsiders into out Home. Ever since the war, the only contact that our people will have with humans is outside our home at predetermined locations. We are trying to end that."

Jake put his hand on Julies shoulder.

"Julie we are inviting you to come live with us, at hometree, as one of the people." Jake said with a soothing tone to his voice.

"We have have been working very hard to get the clans approval, and they chose you out of all the candidates we had offered to them, because of all the work that your mother and Grace did for us." Neytiri added. "Accepting this offer would further our relationship with the humans, as well as help continue Grace's and your mothers research."

Julie was speechless. Her mind was racing and full of question she could not answer. But her gut was telling her "Yes! Yes! Say Yes!!!" Why would they give her this opportunity? She thought. Is this what she really wanted? Did her mother know about this? Her mind was a blur, deep in thought.

"Julie? Are you ok?" Neytiri asked looking into Julies eyes.

"Yea...yea...im fine, just a bit overwhelmed at what your asking me to do. Im not sure if I can make a decision right now." Julie mumbled

"Its quite alright." Neytiri smiled.

She turned and whispered something in Jakes ear. He nodded in agreement.

"Julie, we know that this is not an easy thing we are asking you to do. We don't want you to rush to an answer, we would like you to join us for the right reasons and no just off of what you feeling are telling you right now," Jake stated, "We will return in 3 days time, please think about all we have said and offered to you."

Jake and Neytiri gracefully stood up, Jake offered out his hand to Julie, helping her up he said,

"Eywa ngahu."

"Eywa ngahu." Julie blushed.

The group of Na'vi swiftly mounted their Ikran and with a yell from Jake, they left the ground, soaring into the sky. Julie watched as they flew off. She stayed in the same spot till she could no longer hear the screeching of the Ikran. She felt the excitement building inside of her. She could not contain it any longer. Leaping into the air she was laughing to herself, the excitement was over flowing. When she landed she lost her balance and fell to the ground. The nurses rushed over to make sure she was alright, when they got there, they found her on her back, still giggling to herself.

"This has been the best day ever." She said, ginning from ear to ear.

The rest of the day seemed like just a blur, the people she met, the things she ate, any activities she had done, could not compare to what she had been offered. When the day was finally over, Julie was assigned a hammock in the open cabin where the drivers rested their Avatars over night. Julie was still smiling when she climbed into her hammock for the first time. As she closed her eyes, she whispered,

"Mom and I are going to have a nice long talk."


	6. 3 Days

Dear Readers,

I first want to apologize for the length of time between chapters, this is for a few reasons. One, school has been keeping me very busy and I have not had a lot of time to sit and write, though the chapters are short. Two, I dont like to force writing, as many of you are probably aware, when something if forced it tends not to have the same impact. I will finish writing this story so please keep reading, I wont just forget about it. The end of the semester is coming up so I will be able to devote more time to this and finish it over the summer.

Thanks again for your patience, understanding and continued support!!

Chapter 5 (3 Days)

Julies eyes shot open as she re-awoke inside the link. She was drowsy, groggy, and lethargic. Shifting her eyes from side to side, she could only see the camera that was positioned in front of her, used for monitored her activity inside the link, it was only lit by the small amount of light provided. Vibrations started flowing through her as the link started moving forward. She could hear the sounds of muffled voices emanating from outside. The link shuddered to a halt and the lid slowly opened, as the light from the lab slowly crept in. Julie was immediately met face to face by Norm.

"Welcome back!" he smiled, "So...how was it?" he asked.

"Ugh," Julie grunted as she sat up, "I feel like I was hit by a truck."

She lifted herself out of the link and placed her feet on the floor. Still feeling groggy, she leaned back on the link to support herself.

"Does it always feel like this when you come out of link?" she asked glancing at Norm.

"Not always...It depends on few things." He stated.

"Like?" Julie inquired.

"Well, the main factor is usually length of time you spend linked to your avatar in one session. Everything else is pretty negotiable. Also since its your first time linking to your Avatar, you have not fully adjusted to how it feels and affects you, but over the next few days, you will get used to it and won't feel as bad." Norm explained, as he walked over to the control panel of link pod that Julie was just in.

Julie just nodded in agreement, rubbing her forehead. She had still not fully recovered from the experience of her first time linking to her avatar. As Norm fiddled with the buttons on the screen Julie stared at him with a puzzled look on her face.

"_Did Norm know about this?" _Julie thought.

Julie could sense that Norm had questions for her regarding her meeting with Jake. Though he never said a word to her, even as she said farewell to him and left the link room and headed for home. She stopped right outside the link room and stood in front the the memorial to Grace, as she stood there just looking into the eyes of the portrait she continued to question the opportunity she had been presented with. She read the plaque again as she had many times before, and continued on her way home. As Julie slowly walked back to the residential side of Heaven Gate, her mind continued to ask questions in her head. She paid no attention to her surroundings, everything seemed to rush by. Her mind was entranced by what had happened throughout the day. Her gut feeling had faded away and her rational thought had taken over.

"_Three days...how am I supposed to make this choice in three days?" _She thought as she stared out the glass window of the lounge. She could see the forest below begin to slowly glow as night started to settle in.

She headed back to her home, Julie didn't know what to expect. She reached for her ID tag and pressed it to the scanner, the door slid open and both her parents were there to greet her.

"Hey sweety," her mother said cheerfully, "how did it go?"

"Well, it was...interesting to say the least." Julie remarked.

"How was it meeting the other avatar drivers?" her father asked.

"Kinda cool actually, a lot of them seem really nice." Julie responded. She was answering their questions, but was not really paying attention. Julie barely ate dinner, she was no interest in it. The few questions her parents did ask her, she replied with quick simple answers. She excused herself from the table.

"Im pretty worn out from today, I'm going to get some sleep." she lied, she was not really tired, she just wanted to be left alone to think.

Julie headed to her room and closed the door behind her. It was another warm Pandoran night, so Julie stripped down to her underwear and climbed into bed.

"_Is this what I really want?" _Julie pondered.

Just then her door slowly slid open, Julies mother was standing in the doorway.

"Julie, are you feeling ok?" Sara asked

"Yea, why?" Julie responded

"Well you barely talked with us about your day. I thought you would want to talk about everything that you did today, but you seemed very distant when we asked questions. Are you sure everything is alright?" Sara asked with a worried tone.

Julie sighed and rolled over to look at her mother.

"Why do you never talk about Grace?" Julie asked.

Sara stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Julie I know that you don't have many friends here, and I know the few that you do have are special. When I first came to Pandora, I had nobody. I came to Pandora alone, the trip was paid for by the RDA, I left earth and the few friends I had made. When I arrived at Hells Gate, Grace was the only person that said hello to me and that had a kind word to say to me in years. When we worked together it was as if we knew what each of us was thinking." Sara sniffed.

Julie could see how much this was upsetting her mother. She laid quietly and continued to listen.

"Grace was the one person who saw me for who I truly was, and for that I will always thank her. Her friendship is something I will never be able to replace." Sara paused "I miss her every day. Even now 30 years later, she still has an impact on my life." She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at Julie. "I knew that Jake and Neytiri were coming to see you today." Sara said.

Julie's interest was perked and she immediately sat up to listen.

"I want you to know that this choice you have been given...its your decision, and whatever direction you choose is entirely up to you. Don't feel persuaded to make the a choice based on what people have told you or by what may or may not happen. This is your choice and no one else's."

At this point Sara was sitting on the foot of Julie's bed.

"But what if this is not what I was meant to do? What if I make things worse?" Julie asked almost sobbing.

"Whatever you choose, I know it will be the right one for you and you will excel either way." Sara smiled trying to comfort her daughter. "Don't make the choice to try to please me. You're an adult now, you make the best choice for yourself. You will have your own place to live once the new living section is finished being built."

"I know." Julie said with tears in her eyes.

Sara moved closer to her sobbing daughter and wrapped her arms around her.

"It will be ok," Sara said, holding Julie in her arms "you have a few days to think about this, there is no need to rush."

Sara stayed with Julie until she feel asleep, quietly she crept out of the room. She closed the door and headed back to the family room.

"How did it go?" asked Barry, Julie's father.

"Well she asked why I never talk about Grace." Sara sighed.

"Ouch. How did it go?" he asked.

"I teared up, but I got through it. Its going to be tough for her, no doubt. But she is a strong person, I'm sure she will pull through." Sara said, joining Barry on the couch.

Barry didn't say anything but continued reading over his notes from the day at the lab.

---------------

The next few days Julie spent her time adjusting to how her Avatar moved and reacted. She ran the obstacle course everyday to build up her stamina and she started learning more about the Na'vi language to help her interact with the natives in the future. Julie was always pondering the answer that she would have to give Jake when he arrived for the second time.

As she went about her daily activities she had the sense that people were watching her. The male drivers always seemed to watch her graceful body whenever she walked across the compound, but she paid no attention to them.

-----------

Julie awoke on the third day, she knew Jake would be arriving today to ask her is she was ready and willing to come and live along side the Tribe. She sat in bed and stared out the window for a long time wondering what it would be like to stare in the opposite direction. She went through her morning routine in silence, occasionally responding to something someone may have asked her.

Word had spread of what she was going to potentially opportunity she had been presented with, rumors and gossip spread very fast on the small compound and as she headed toward the link room, people would occasionally wish her luck and tell her to do her best. She smiled and thanked than, but she was still worried about what she was going to do.

As Julie passed through the automatic doors of the link room, Norm was immediately there to greet her.

"Julie! So are you ready?" he asked gleefully.

"I think so." She managed to say.

"Well we are proud of all you have been able to accomplish in a short amount of time and we will stand by whatever choice you make." He smiled. "We have your link ready and waiting for you." Gesturing toward the only open link pod.

Julie walked over and climbed inside.

"Good luck!" Norm said to her as the lid closed.

Julie closed her eyes and took one more deep breath to try to calm her nerves. She felt herself being pulled forward into the white again.

When the white light had disappeared and the feeling of being pulled had stopped, she took another deep breath and opened her eyes again. Her avatar was in her hammock still curled up like she had left her the night before. Julie stayed in that position for a few minutes, laying still, she was the only one left in the hut where the other avatars slept.

"_Well it's probably time to get going." _she thought.

She slid out of her hammock and gracefully landed on the ground below. After getting changed, she strolled out the door and into the warmth of Pandora. As she headed down the stairs of the shack, she could already hear the sounds of the Ikran call's signaling that they very close.

Julie remembered where she had met Jake the first time and started to make her way to the same landing area as before. About half way there, Julie heard another shriek from the Ikrans, her eyes shot skyward to see the same Ikrans as she had seen 3 days ago, appear over the tree line and start circling the compound. Julie's excitement rose for the first time in days.

"_Is this a sign?"_ she wondered.

Julie could see them already heading for the same area as before, she started to jog as not to make them wait for her when they finally landed.

The Ikrans slowed their descent once again gracefully landed as the Na'vi swung off their mounts and landed on the ground. Julie could see Jake and Neytiri already walking toward her as she approached.

"Kaltxi, ma Julie. Oel ngati kameie." Jake said with a smile on his face.

"Oel ngati kameie." Julie responded.

"How are you feeling?" asked Neytiri, sensing that Julie was uneasy.

"Confused and lost, and yet when I saw you again flying over the compound again, I got the feeling of excitement and joy." Julie confessed as she stared at the ground.

"It will be alright." Neytiri said smiling, lifting Julie's head with her hand.

"Irayo." said Julie looking at Neytiri.

"So, have you made your decision?" Jake asked.

There were a few moments of tense silence. Julie looked from Neytiri's smiling face over to Jake's stern and somber gaze.

"This was one of the hardest choices I have ever had to make in my life," She paused again, "but I have decided that I will join you and the Na'vi People."

Jake's face immediately started to glow as a smile spread across his face.

"Julie, you have made us both very happy and I'm sure you have made a number of other people happy as well." Jake said placing his had on Julie just as he had done before.

Julie could feel a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, she smiled from ear to ear as happiness flowed through her again.

"I think there is someone who wants to see you though." Jake said, pointing behind Julie.

Julie turned to see her mother running down the dirt path with a mask on, ginning as well. Julie kneeled down and embraced her mother as she did the same.

"Im so proud of you right now!" Sara said with tears of joy falling from her eyes. "Remember that, ok? No matter what happens I will always be proud of you."

"I know mom, I know. Thank you for all the help and support you have given me over the past few days, it really helped." Julie said, trying to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

Sara finally let go of Julie and looked up Jake and Neytiri.

"Please take care of her." She said.

"We will." answered Neytiri.

Jake nodded.

"Alright honey, it's time for you to get going, ok?" Sara said looking at Julie once again. "Don't cry, I will see you at dinner remember that."

Julie smiled and nodded. Jake and Neytiri had already boarded their mounts. Neytiri's Ikran was significantly larger than the rest of the Ikrans that were there. Neytiri stretched out her hand offering it to Julie. Julie grasped it and was pulled a board Neytiri's Ikran.

"Now hold on tight." Neytiri instructed.

Julie nodded.

* * *

Na'vi Words and Translation: (Forgot to add it to the last chapter)

Kaltxi – Hello

Oel ngati kameie – I see you

Irayo – Thank you


	7. Arrival

Chap 6 (Arrival)

Neytiri's Ikran lunged forward as it started its climb into the sky. Julie had to hold on to Neytiri's waist with all her strength to avoid falling off the creature. The Ikran screeched as it continued to rise into the sky, Neytiri glaced back to make sure that Julie was alright, she could see that her eyes were shut tight and she could feel how tightly Julie was grasping her waist. By now the group of riders were circling the compound.

"Mawey, Julie," Neytiri grinned "its ok, you can open your eyes."

Slowly, Julie managed to open both her eyes. She gazed over the compound, she could see her parents, Norm, and many of the other scientist waving to her. She loosened her grasp of Neytiri, and waved back. Julie smiled at Neytiri.

"Hang on!" Neytiri said.

Neytiri's Ikran banked sharply as the group started back toward Hometree. They flew over the tress that surrounded the compound as they picked up speed. Julie glanced down at the trees below, they were rushing by faster than she could see. Suddenly the blur of trees was replaced by a shear cliff. Shooting straight down, the forest below now seemed to be miles away. Julie's eyes widened as she clung to Neytiri again, fearing the sudden change in altitude. Neytiri just looked back and giggled. As Julie became more conformable with the hight they were flying at, her grip on Neytiri loosened once again. Carefully she peered out over the side of the Ikran, the view was outstanding, she could see for miles in all directions. Neytiri could sense what Julie was thinking.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Neytiri said, as she glanced back. She could see the sparkle of wonderment in the girl's eyes. Julie didn't even have to answer.

The was no noise but the rushing wind and the occasional call from an Ikran. Julie continued to gaze down and landscape as it slowly glided by.

As they neared home tree, Julie could see a small gathering at the base. They started their descent and slowly circled around the landing area, losing altitude each time.

"What if the clan doesn't accept me?" Julie asked worriedly.

"Im sure that won't happen, most of the clan have changed their feelings toward Sky People. Just remember to treat them with respect and I'm sure they will do the same for you." Neytiri said.

Julie smiled nervously. The Ikran they were riding on came to a halt as it landed on the soft ground, Julie could hear the others landing behind her. She glanced back to see that Jake had alread dismounted and was headed toward the crowd that had gathered in front of them.

Julie glanced around nervously as Neytiri dismounted, she turned and looked up at Julie. Neytiri offered her hand once again to help Julie down. Julie took Neytiri's hand and slowly she slid of the Ikran. As she landed, she lost her footing and fell, flat on her face in the mud.

She could hear the crowd giggling, Julie could feel her cheeks starting to blush with embarrassment. She heard Jake mutter something in na'vi, but she could not understand what he said. She didn't want to try to get up for the fear of being ridiculed and laughed at again. Julie picked herself up, but kept her head bowed down, so her hair covered her face and so no one could see the tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She felt hand on her back, she carefully looked up to see Neytiri's large golden eyes starting back at her. She wiped the mud and tears from her eyes as a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Don't worry." she said.

Julie nodded as she tired to hold back the tears.

Neytiri heard a small amount of laughter coming form the crowd again, her head snapped back as she glared at the crowd. The laughs instantly stopped. Julie understood why Jake loved her so much, she was compassionate and understanding and yet she was fearless and respected. Julie hoped to find someone special like that someday.

Julie wiped the mud off of her as best as she could, but it had gotten everywhere.

"_Crap,"_ Julie thought, _"well good thing I brought extra clothing."_

Jake was still addressing the crowd when Julie glanced over, he was still speaking in na'vi and she only could pick up words here and there. He finally ended with "thank you" and most of the crowd dispersed back to Hometree.

"Let get you clean." Neytiri said to Julie as beckoned for Julie to follow her.

Julie stayed close to Neytiri as she followed her through Hometree, she could feel that people were staring at her, children stopped playing and ran off to find their parents. Julie felt unconformable and out of place, almost like an outcast. But a few members walked by and said " Oel ngati kameie" to her which put her mind at ease. Julie continued to followed Neytiri till they reached the other side of Hometree. As the continued to walk, they exited the opposite side from where they had entered.

Neytiri lifted up some large branches right outside the exit. Julie quickly walked through the hole that had been made and Neytiri followed. The path way lead to a secluded stream bed.

"Feel free to wash up," Neytiri said "I will return with some new clothes for you."

"_Man, that could have gone better."_ thought Julie as she removed her pants.

She looked around, to make sure that no one was watching her. She carefully removed her top and underwear that she had been wearing.

She started wading into the water, letting the cool feeling creep up her body. She continued until the water was at her navel. She could feel the caked on mud start to lift from her body. She took a deep breath and plunged beneath the water. The cool feeling of water on her face made all her worries and fears wash away as she emerged again. She pulled her hair back and rung out some the dirty water, Neytiri was still not back.

"_Thats odd, it shouldn't take her this long to get my clothing." _Julie thought.

She continued to bath until Neytiri returned, but she did not have the clothing Julie had brought with her. Instead Neytiri had brought a loin cloth like she wore and a necklace with a number of feathers on it that covered her chest..

"I can't wear this." Julie objected.

"Why not?" Neytiri asked, puzzled.

"Well, it's a bit...revealing, don't you think?" Julie said.

Neytiri just laughed, as she handed Julie her new set of clothes. Julie obliged and slipped into her loin cloth and place the necklace around her neck. She made sure that the feathers did their job.

Thanks again for all of those who have been patiently waiting, school is done, so I though I would celebrate by writing the next chapter!


	8. Blending In

Chap 7 (Blending In)

Julie followed Neytiri back along the trail that led them to the stream. She continued to play with the necklace that Neytiri had given her, becoming more self-conscious the closer they got to the entrance of home tree.

"_This...this is awkward." _Julie thought to herself.

Julie felt a growing uneasiness in the pit of her stomach as they reentered Home Tree. She kept her eyes low to avoid eye contact and she began to play with her tail. Neytiri looked back and noticed how uneasy Julie really was. She stopped to face Julie.

"Julie, look around, is anyone staring?" Neytiri asked.

Julie looked up and started to take in her surroundings. She notice that the people around her were all going about their daily tasks and did not seeming to notice her at all. Julie looked back at Neytiri, took a deep breath and forced a smile across her face.

"Irayo." she said as she let go of her tail trying to calm herself.

"The people believe that you are one of us, there is no need to be afraid." Neytiri said, "I have to go hunting for the clan, which means I will have to leave for now."

Julie felt the uneasiness start to creep back into her stomach.

"But I want you to try and feel comfortable here, try to make yourself at home." Neytiri said in a soothing voice.

Julie just nodded, Neytiri smiled back. She turned and headed back to where she had landed her Ikran earlier.

Julie watched as Neytiri mounted her Ikran, and take off. Julie walked around the base of home tree, still feeling awkward and out of place. She found the closest rock that she could and tried to make herself comfortable. A small gasp escaped her when she sat down. The cold, rough surface of the rock was an unexpected surprise when her skin touched it.

"Im never going to get used to living like his." she muttered under her breath.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and put her head down so she would not have to make eye contract.

"_What am I doing here?" _She thought.

She sat in silence for a awhile, just letting her mind go blank. Just then a voice broke the silence.

"Kaltxi."

Julie didn't move.

"Kaltxi." the voice said louder.

When Julie realized that the voice was talking to her, she looked up. Standing in from of her was a smiling face of a tall male na'vi.

"Oel ngati kameie." He said.

"Oel ngati kameie." Julie managed to get out.

"Are you all right?" the male said.

Julie was surprised at how good his english was, she could barely detect an accent.

"I'm not sure... I just got here, and I don't really know anybody." Julie admitted.

"Well I'm Wintxu, and that must mean you're Julie, right?'

"Yea, how did you guess?" Julie said sarcasticly.

"Well I never saw you before, and I knew we were supposed to have a visitor." Wintxu joked.

Julie started to relax as the conversation with Wintxu continued. Eventually Wintxu offered to show her around and introduce her to the clan. She was a bit tentative at first, but after some persuasion from Wintxu, she agreed.

They went everywhere, and to Julie, it seemed that they met everyone. Wintxu made sure that Julie was conformable in her new surroundings.

"Irayo." Julie said softly, as she was following Wintxu.

"Hmm?" he questioned.

"Irayo., I wanted to thank you. You were the first person that really seemed to care, since I got here." she said.

Wintxu smiled. "No problem." he said. "I have to go take care of some things, but I will be back later."

Julie nodded in acknowledgment as she watched him jog off. For the first time, Julie felt conformable being by herself. Now that she had been introduced to what seemed to be every member in the clan and had been shown around, curiosity started to take over. Julie had began to climb up Home Tree till she was nearly at the top. She noticed a small yellow beam of sunlight creeping through the dense canopy. She decided to followed the light and see where it was coming from, until she found the source. A small gap in the leafs, she pushed back the dense foliage to revile a secluded spot up where someone could sit, and look out over the tree tops of the forest below. Carefully stepping out onto the landing in front of her, she gazed out across the landscape.

"Beautiful." She whispered.

It was getting late in the day, the sun had begun to set on Pandora. She decided to sit down and watch the sunset, she found herself thinking about what had happened in just a day, all the things she had seen, people she had met, and things she had done. A rustling interrupted her thoughts as Wintxu appeared out of the dense foliage. When he saw Julie, a surprised look crossed his face.

"Never thought anyone would find this place, I'm more surprised that you found it." he chuckled, "How did you find it so easy?"

"Curiosity got the best of me...I guess." Julie said. "The view from up here is just amazing."

Wintxu sat down next to her.

"I know, I often come up here just to relax after a long day." smiled Wintxu.

There was a long break in their conversation, both of them just sitting in silence watching the sun set.

"So what made you decided to come live with us?" Wintxu asked.

Julie leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree, deep in thought.

"To be honest...Pandora is all I have ever known and grown up with. I never really got to explore this wonderful world, I was always confined to living in the barracks and labs of Heavens Gate. I though this would give me an opportunity to see what the world around me looked like, and how the people of this planet lived." Julie said as she turned to look at Wintxu. "Also my mother was persuasive enough to get this opportunity placed in front of me, I didn't really want to let her down either."

Wintxu nodded as he continued to stare out over the forest.

"At least it was your choice in the end...right?" he said looking at Julie.

"Yea, my mother made sure I knew that it was my choice in the end." Julie remarked.

Off in the distance, the sound of Ikran's was heard by both Julie and Wintxu. They could soon see that it was Neytiri and the rest of the hunters returning. They watched the group of hunters until they reached the base of Home Tree.

"We should get going or we will be late for dinner." Wintxu stated as he stood up.

He offered his hand to Julie, she grasped it and he helped her to her feet. Both of them started to head back toward the thick brush that secluded the area where they sat. There was an awkward silence as Julie followed Wintxu. She was trying to think of what to say, anything to say, just to start the conversation up again. At that moment, Julie tripped over a long hanging branch and cried as she fell. Wintxu heard her cry and turned around in time to break her fall and catch her in his arms.

Julie's eyes were shut tight, as she had been ready for the impact with the ground. When it never came, she opened her eyes to see Wintxu staring back at her smiling.

"You gotta be more careful." he smiled.

Julie could feel herself blushing "Irayo." she said faintly as she was helped to her feet again.

"Come on, we don't want to be late." Wintxu said as he disappeared into the think brush.

Julie followed behind, still blushing.


	9. The Night

Chapter 8 (The Night)

Neytiri had returned from a very successful hunt with enough food to feed the entire clan. She made sure that everything thing was ready for tonight's feast to welcome Julie to the clan.

"_I wonder how Julie is doing,"_ Neytiri thought _"she seemed a bit shaken when I left her."_

She quickly had made sure everything was in order for the meal that night and began to look around for Julie, asking people if they had seen her. Many members of the tribe had said that they had met her, but didn't know where she was. Neytiri went to look for Jake.

Julie continued to follow Wintxu down through the canopy of Hometree, but she was having trouble keeping up with the young Na'vi as they descended. Wintxu was gracefully leaping from limb to limb with ease while Julie navigated around each limb trying to keep up. Julie continued following Wintxu as she watched him swing through the branches. She watched him disappear from view as she found an alternate route to try to keep up with him. When Julie emerged from her detour, Wintxu had vanished. Julie walked out to where she thought Wintxu would have been waiting for her, but he was no where to be found.

"Wintxu!" she called out.

No reply.

"Wintxu!" she yelled again.

"Yes?" a voice behind her said.

Julie turned to see Wintxu hanging upside down grinning from ear to ear. Julie jumped back startled while Wintxu chuckled to himself.

"Not funny." Julie sneered.

"What? Don't you play these kind of games where you come from?" Wintxu inquired as he gracefully dropped to his feet.

"No." Julie responded.

"You Avatar drivers are weird." Wintxu joked.

"Look who's talking." Julie grinned back.

Wintxu laughed as he jumped down to the closet tree limb and continued his decent. Julie just shook her head smiling to herself. The two continued to play the moving version of hide and seek, taking turns seeing who could find the best hiding spot and they continued towards the base of Hometree. Wintxu found Julie with ease almost every time, while Julie had some trouble trying to getting to the higher spots where Wintxu often hid. Eventually, they both arrived at the base of Hometree out of breath and laughing at each other.

Almost immediately Neytiri appeared and saw the two standing next to each other.

"_Looks like she is fitting in just fine." _Neytiri thought as she waved to them.

Julie and Wintxu smiled and waved back.

"Look like you two where having a good time." said Neytiri.

"Yea." Julie responded, still winded, as she glanced at Wintxu.

"Wintxu, go make sure the meal for tonight is being properly prepared." Neytiri said.

Wintxu nodded and headed off to where the food was being prepared.

"See you later Julie." he yelled as he waved.

Julie waved back, she turned to Neytiri and smiled.

"Well it seems you have made a friend." Neytiri said.

"Yea, Wintxu was kind enough to show me around and introduce me." replied Julie.

Neytiri motioned to Julie to follow her, Julie followed without hesitation. They found the closest rock and both of them sat down to relax. It had been a long day for both of them in many ways.

"So do you think you will stay?" Neytiri asked.

"I didn't know leaving was an option." Julie said, puzzled.

"It was an option, however we felt it best not to let you know that," Neytiri teased "we wanted you to see how you would fit in first."

Julie smirked. "My mother asked for you to do that, didn't she?" she asked.

"Yes." Neytiri stated simply as she grinned at Julie.

There was a moment of silence, them both of them started to giggle at the situation.

"That's my mom for you, always looking out for me, but I love her for it." Julie said as she regained her composure.

They both sighed as they regained control over their breathing. Julie looked up to see that the sun had finally set on the planet of Pandora and the night had begun. A low tone bellowed around them, Neytiri slowly stood.

"Time to eat." she smiled.

Julie stood alongside her followed her to the dining area. She could smell the cooked food and her mouth started to water. Julie had had so much fun that day that she had forgotten how hungry she was. As Julie entered the area she was taken back at the size of the dinning area.

It was massive, three large fire pits with raised seating surrounding them so that all could see the center, where entertainment was provided. Five large roots from Hometree encircled them while the opening above allowed for viewing of the sky during the night.

Julie continued to follow Neytiri to where she and Jake sat, Julie found a place right next to them to sit and saw that everyone had started to take their seats as the food was starting to be passed around. As Julie got her share of the meal she looked at it, the meal consisted of some strange blue meat along with large, white, steaming grubs. Suddenly Julie was no longer as hungry as she was before.

"Umm...what is this?" she asked as she looked up at Neytiri, who was busy biting into one of the white grubs.

"Try it, I'm sure you will love it, it tastes just like...um..." she turned to Jake and whispered something in his ear. Jake grinned as she did so, and whispered back.

"Chicken, it tastes just like...chicken." Neytiri said turning back to Julie.

"It actually does." Jake chimed in with a grin from ear to ear.

Julie slowly picked up one of the grubs and bit into, chewing it slowing, her eyes began to light up. Turning back to Jake and Neytiri.

"It does!" she exclaimed with a mouth full of grub.

Julie continued to eat, savoring all the new smells and tastes that she had in front of her. She was so entranced by the food that she hadn't noticed that the entertainment for that night begun. The sound of thundering drums filled the air as a number of dancers entered the center of the ring. Julie was so startled by the sound of the drums that she nearly choked on a grub she was eating. Julie finally managed to swallow the grub, she took a sigh of relief as she turned her attention to the song and dance that was in front of her.

As Julie sat back and enjoyed the music, she looked around at everyone who was their. Many of them Wintxu had introduced her to, Julie smiled as she thought of Wintxu and his generosity to help her feel welcome. Moments later, she spotted him in the crowd, he was talking and laughing with a number of other male na'vi. Julie suddenly felt a rush a warmth flow over her as she gazed at Wintxu.

"Julie? You ok?" Neytiri asked.

Shook her head and quickly averted her glace to avoid being caught staring.

"Yea...I'm just a bit tired, its been a long day." she said facing Neytiri.

"I guess it's time to get some rest then." Neytiri said as she rose from her seat.

Julie watched as Neytiri turned to Jake and whispered something in his ear and gently gave him a kiss on the cheek. They both grinned at each other and Neytiri motioned for Julie to follow her.

Julie followed Neytiri towards the upper part of Home Tree, she was drained from everything that had happened that day. As climbed, Julie could see a number of hammocks swinging gently as clan members curled up inside of them.

"_It's going to be nice to get some rest." _she thought staring upward.

Julie continued to follow Neytiri upward until the hammocks Julie was once glancing up at, were far below. They finally arrived at an area where there were a number of open hammocks.

"You may choose any of these to sleep in." Neytiri said, turning to Julie, as she gestured across the open area.

Julie nodded in response, she started to walk down the tree limbs that allowed access to the hammocks on that level. Julie followed the winding limbs of the tree until she found herself at the edge of the canopy, she looked around and found an empty hammock that had a clear view over the forest below.

"_It's just like home."_ she thought, turing to Neytiri. "Here...I think this will be fine." she said with a smile.

Neytiri smiled, "We will see you in the morning," she said as she helped Julie into her hammock, "Have a good night."

"You too...and...thanks for everything." Julie said.

Neytiri smiled and disappeared behind the think brush of the canopy.

Julie turned rolled onto her side as she tried to make herself comfortable, her mind was still buzzing with all that had happened that day, but her body was tired. She stared out over the landscape in front of her. The pitch black night speckled with stars was only made more stunning by the faint glow of the forest below. Julie smiled as she closed her eyes for the night.

"_I can't wait to tell mother about..." _a rustling above cut her thoughts short.

Opening her eyes, she glanced around seeing if anyone was there.

"Probably just the wind." she whispered to herself.

She laid back down and shut her eyes again, moments later the rustling started again, Julie opened her eyes again to come face to face with Wintxu.

Julie's heart raced as she felt a scream forming in her throat, but Wintux was quick to react, placing his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Placing one finger to his lips, he silently told Julie to stay quite. Julie shook her head slowly understanding what he meant as he leaned in closer to her.

"Follow me." He whispered into her ear.

Julie's ears perked up at what he said. Wintxu helped Julie out of her hammock, and motioned for her to follow as he began to quietly move along the tree limbs so not to disturb any one from sleeping. As Julie followed Wintxu, the feeling of being exhausted melted away. Quietly the two made their way down Home Tree and soon Julie found herself at the entrance still tailing Wintxu.

Wintxu had stopped right before the entrance of Home Tree, as he waited for Julie to catch up.

"So there is one more thing I wanted to show you." Wintxu said with a grin, as Julie caught up.

Julie looked at him puzzled, "What? I though you showed me everything?" she asked, "What else could there be?"

"That..." Wintxu said as he gazed into the thick forest. "This place, Home Tree, is only part of our world, of who we are. But its not the whole picture... it's the world around us and to truly understand that, you need to see it for yourself."

Julie could feel herself staring at Wintxu, she had no idea why, but she could not look away. Only when Wintxu turned to look at her did she break her stare. She brushed her hair aside trying to cover the fact that she was blushing again. Wintxu grinned, took off running toward the forest. Julie was still embarrassed that she had been caught staring.

"Come on!" Wintxu yelled, as he disappeared into the forest.

Julie stood at the base of Home Tree for what felt like ages, trying to decide what to do. After building up enough courage she slowly made her way toward the forest.

"_What's going on?" _she thought, _"What am I doing?"_

Her slow walk started to quicken in pace until she was in a full sprint towards the forest.

"_Here goes nothing!"_ she thought.

She ran right into the thick of the forest, pushing branches and vines out of her way, trying to get to an opening. She continued to struggle as she burst through the thick brush and arrived at a clearing, glowing a vibrant green.

"I wondered when you would show," Wintxu joked, "Think you can keep up this time?"

He didn't even give Julie a chance to respond before he was running along a fallen tree trunk. Julie desperately wanted to take in her surroundings, the clearing she was in was just beautiful, but she had to keep up with Wintxu in order not to get lost. Julie sprinted after Wintxu with all her might, trying to catch him. He was gracefully bounding over fallen tree limbs and nimbly darted though the thick brush.

Julie was having trouble keeping up with him, every time she seemed to be closing the gap between them, it started to grow again. As Julie started to close the gap once again, she caught a glimpse Wintxu face. He was smiling and laughing to himself.

"_Oh, he's playing a game with me." _ she thought as she smirked.

She watched as Wintxu leaped over another fallen tree and disappear from view. Julie found a gap under the fallen tree that she exploited. As she emerged from under the tree, she was ready for another all out sprint but instead she found Wintxu sitting next to a stream, his feet dangling in the water, staring up into the night sky.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Julie asked.

"Yep." Wintxu simply replied.

Julie sat down next to Wintxu and joined him by putting her feet in the water as well.

"Everything...it's, too wonderful for words." Julie said.

"I know, that's why I brought you here." Wintxu said with a friendly smile.

Both of them sat for awhile as they enjoyed the scenery around them. Julie watched the many creatures that were flying around her as well as swimming around in the water below.

"Beautiful night." Julie said, trying to break the silence.

"Yea." Wintxu replied.

"So...I have this question has been bugging me..." Julie said.

Wintxu looked at Julie puzzled.

"Why...why did you decide to help me?" Julie asked awkwardly.

Wintxu laughed to himself.

"When I saw you curled up on that rock, you looked so helpless and alone, and I know how that feels, I was alone at one point as well. I just didn't want you to feel that way when you live here, we are a family and no one should be left out," he said. "and it was nice to get to know you as well, I really didn't know what to expect from an Avatar driver to be honest, but looks like everything turned out ok."

Julie could feel herself blushing again, she turned and grinned to herself.

Wintxu took noticed her strange movements.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yea...I guess...I...I" Julie stuttered. She took a deep breath and continued. "I really don't know how to say this any other way. I really liked spending time with you today..."

"So did I." Wintxu interrupted.

"No...no I mean, I felt that it meant more than two people getting to know each other, I felt this sort of connection...I don't know." Julie said, distraught that she could not articulate her thoughts and feelings into words, "My head has been a mess of thoughts and feelings all day, I just don't know what to do." she said as she looked up in Wintxu's eyes.

There was a moment of silence between them, both staring at each other. It only lasted a moment but to Julie, it felt like a life time.

"I know and it's ok." Wintxu said with a smile, "I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way."

Julie felt the weight lifted off her shoulders as she a sigh of relief washed over her.

"I have only been here a day, this can't be normal..." Julie trailed off.

"If it's Eywa's will, there is not stopping it." Wintxu said still gazing at her.

Julie looked up and smiled, she moved closer to Wintxu and rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel Wintxu tail move against hers, she smiled as their tails entwined. She looked up at Wintxu and noticed that he was blushing. They sat their for what felt like ages, talking, enjoying the scenery around them and each others company, but soon Julie felt the exhaustion from the day start to catch up with her.

"Its getting late...well...later." Wintxu said.

"Yea." Julie yawned.

"Think we should get going?"

Julie nodded.

They both got up and headed back toward Home Tree. The walk through the glowing forest was beautiful, Wintxu and Julie continued to talk and joke around as they headed back. As they neared the edge of the forest where they had entered.

"Thanks again for everything, I really don't know what I would have done without you." Julie said.

Wintxu smiled, "You..."

He couldn't get the words out of his mouth, before Julie kissed him softly on the cheek just as she saw Neytiri kiss Jake.

Wintxu stood there, trying to pick his jaw up off the floor, his hand where her lips had been.

"I'm glad we had this night together, but I think we may need to keep this a secret for the time being. I have no idea how the clan would react...or my parents for that matter." Julie said, her thoughts turning negative.

"Yea.." Wintxu sighed.

"But I had a great time." Julie grinned as she headed back toward the entrance of Home Tree.

Wintxu followed Julie back through the entrance, they met once again, at the base of where their separate sleeping areas where. Julie looked into Wintxu eyes and hugged him.

"Irayo." she whispered into his ear.

They parted and headed to bed, with thought of that night fresh in their minds. As Julie managed to climb into her hammock by herself, she tried to think of what might happen next.

"_I really hope I have not screwed this up already."_ she thought.

Julie closed her eyes and once again felt the familiar tug and the blinding white light as she slipped back to her real body.


End file.
